My Last Duchess
by feistykittykat
Summary: The Lord of the Southern Lands is thinking of marrying his only daughter to the Lord of the Western Lands, Lord Sesshoumaru. However, before the Lord of the South can do that, he must find out more about Sesshoumaru's past. This is the story of the great
1. The Poem

**Note**: well, this is my first fic. had this idea in my english literature class while reading this poem. it's important to the story, so i decided to put it up here.

if anyone is a lit genius, one look at this poem and you will know what i'm planning to do. but... my story will be a little bit different from the poem.

hope you guys enjoy. chapter two will be up soon. just need someone to read it over.

Disclaimer: I do not own the poem "My Last Duchess" by Robert Browning.

* * *

My Last Duchess – Robert Browning

That's my last Duchess on the wall,

Looking as if she were alive. I call

That piece a wonder, now: Fra Pandolf's hands

Worked busily a day, and there she stands.

Will't please you sit and look at her? I said

"Fra Pandolf" by design, for never read

Strangers like you that pictured countenance,

The depth and passion of its earnest glance,

But to myself they turned (since none puts by

The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)

And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,

How such a glance came there; so, not the first

Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, 'twas not

Her husband's presence only, called that spot

Of joy into the Duchess' cheek; perhaps

Fra Pandolf changed to say, "Her mantle laps

Over my lady's wrist too much," or "Paint

Must never hope to reproduce the faint

Half flush that dies along her throat." Such stuff

Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough

For calling up that spot of joy. She had

A heart – how shall I say? – too soon made glad,

Too easily impressed; she liked whate'er

She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

Sir, 'twas all one! My favor at her breast,

The dropping of the daylight in the West,

The bough of cherries some officious fool

Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule

She rode with round the terrace – all and each

Would draw from her alike the approving speech,

Or blush, at least. She thanked men – good! but thanked

Somehow – I know not how – as if she ranked

My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name

With anybody's gift. Who'd stoop to blame

This sort of trifling? Even had you skill

In speech – which I have not – to make your will

Quite clear to such an one, and say, "Just this

Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss,

Or there exceed the mark" – and if she let

Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set

Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse

- E'en then would be some stooping; and I choose

Never to stoop. Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,

Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without

Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;

Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands

As if alive. Will't please you rise? We'll meet

The company below, then. I repeat,

The Count your master's known munificence

Is ample warrant that no just pretense

Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;

Though his fair daughter's self, as I avowed

As starting, is my object. Nay, we'll go

Together down, sir. Notice Neptune, though,

Taming a sea horse, thought a rarity,

Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me!

* * *

yay. now review and i'll put chapter two or one, it's **all** relative ) up later today or tomorrow. 


	2. The Guest

Yay. Finally finished chapter one…or two. This chapter might have been a bit boring. But it's important. nods head The next chapter should be done in a couple of days. I'm writing this as I go. I have an outline and everything, but I write the actual chapters separately; I don't try and write them all at the same time then upload them individually.

Note: I don't own Inuyasha. Stop bugging me. throws bricks at lawyers

* * *

Taihen walked briskly through the cool marble floors of the castle while absorbing the radiance of the sunlight on his tanned skin. At the end of the hall, a short, bulky, toad like youkai stood in the middle of the brilliant marble floor. He held a long wooden staff that has two weird looking heads attached to the top while tapping his foot impatiently. He wore a simple brown haori and a plain black hat over his bald sea green head. When he finally noticed that someone was walking towards him, he opened his big green mouth and screeched.

"Where have you been! The great Sesshoumaru-sama has been waiting for you! How **dare** you make milord wait for you!"

"Uhhh… I'm uhh… sorry…?" Taihen had trailed off. He didn't know the little toad so he didn't know how to address him, whether as a fellow servant or as someone with a rank. The little green toad looked as if he was turning even greener by the insult of not knowing his name.

"It's Jaken! And I'm Lord Sesshoumaru's most trusted and most loyal servant! The great Lord Sesshoumaru even revived me, his most dedicated servant…" Jaken rambled on, the speech more for himself than for Taihen.

"Uhhh… excuse me, Jaken-sama. Can you please just tell me where Lord Sesshoumaru is? I still have an appointment with him," Taihen asked respectfully.

"Fine! Follow me."

Sesshoumaru had smelled the humans when they first entered the castle. Sesshoumaru let his mouth twist into a little scowl. _Now the castle will smell like worthless humans_, he thought. _However, it cannot be avoided as this Sesshoumaru has an appointment with the disgusting ningen._

Before one of the humans could knock on the door, Sesshoumaru beckoned him inside. In the doorway stood a tall man with long black hair that was tied into a low pony tail. Like most humans, his appearance was not well kept at all. His clothes were obviously ripped in certain places and dirty from the exhausting journey from the Southern Lands. When he finally stepped through the door and into Sesshoumaru's study, the demon lord had noticed that this ningen moved with a majesty only achieved by royalty.

_But I thought Lord Ryuu was sending a lowly messenger over?_ The stoic demon lord had wondered. Usually servants do not walk like monarchs. Sesshoumaru quickly narrowed his eyes and questioned the suspicious man. "Who are you and what are you doing in my home?" Sesshoumaru watched as the man hesitated before regaining his composure.

The human bowed low and respectfully towards the taiyoukai before continuing. "I'm Taihen, my lord, one of the many lowly servants that serves the Lord Ryu in the Southern Lands. Lord Ryu sents his greetings and the lord also left instructions for me to follow. He wishes Lord Sesshoumaru to share some of his history with this lowly servant, just so my Lord Ryu could prepare his lovely daughter to service and please you in the future when you two are mated, my lord."

Sesshoumaru had noticed that the ningen's way of talk had a hint of superiority to it. He also realized that the human would not drop his disgusting act in trying to deceive this Sesshoumaru. "Listen here, human. It is pointless in trying to trick this Sesshoumaru because you are not doing a great job at it. You might look dirty and you might dress like a servant, but obviously you are not. Your hair is regularly cut and well taken care of; your nails are manicured and shiny; you walk like you were raised as a member of royalty and lastly, your speech depict you as an educated man." Sesshoumaru seemed to hesitate before speaking again. "…and you smell like that disgusting human prince that used to visit this castle when he was young."

The man merely laughed and walked over to Sesshoumaru. "Did you just use humor, Sesshoumaru? I see that nothing escapes you, old friend. Yes, it is I, Kasumi. Father says hi and that he would like to know more about your past. He also generously sent Taihen along with me to interrogate you." Kasumi made a face before continuing. "As you know, you have been allies with the Southern Lands for over 3 hundred years; you have seen handfuls of my forefathers pass away. Yet, we know virtually nothing about you and your house before we met you. Quite frankly, father loves my little sister, 'Gome. Yes, she is the child of one of my father's concubines, but he loves her nonetheless. He wants the best for her, and unfortunately for you, my father thinks that _you_ are the best."

Sesshoumaru thought over what Kasumi had told him. He didn't realize the South had regarded so highly of him. Sesshoumaru was lost to his thoughts until a cough and a prod from Kasumi delivered him back to reality. "…very well. This Sesshoumaru will entertain you and the Southern Lord. However, I am entitled to not let you know everything about my past. Things that are sacred to my house and the secrets that were passed down to me by my father. However, I am willing to discuss with you about my… late mate. It would be better to talk in another room… and your servant is welcome to join us; as long as he can keep his mouth shut or I will shut it for him, permanently."

Kasumi nodded slightly in agreement and, along with a pale Taihen, followed the taiyoukai through the halls in the castle. After quite a long walk, they arrived in front of a set of beautiful wooden doors. The Western Lord pushed them apart and quickly walked into the room. Once Kasumi was inside, he could see that the room was wonderfully decorated. Rich, creamy colored curtains hung from the windows; thick, soft furs covered the cold marble floor and in the middle of the room sat a large bed. The walls of the room were bare save for one spot on the wall adjacent to the door; there was a curtain hiding something from Kasumi's view.

Sesshoumaru motioned for Kasumi to sit down and Kasumi gladly took the seat on one of the cushions on the floor. Sesshoumaru walked over to the curtain, took a deep breath, and said, "This particular curtain has not been drawn for over three centuries; I hope that you, humans, realize how grateful you two should be to be the first ones in over three hundred years to see the late Lady of the Western Lands, Kagome."

* * *

hmmm… did anyone see something up there? I did!

ok. Review and chapters should come sooner. More reviews might to a new chapter!


	3. The Beginning

Disclaimer: no I don't own Inuyasha, but if I did, Sesshoumaru would be in my closet right now barely clothed, and Kikyo would be my personal slav—I mean maid cleaning up after my cat's hairballs.

* * *

450 years ago...

Jaken was sprinting through the marble halls of the Castle of the Moon towards his master's study. Out at the front gates stood Naraku, one of the dukes that inhabited the edges of the Western Lands. Naraku arrived not half an hour ago, demanding to speak with Lord Sesshoumaru. Of course, Jaken had refused to let the lowly duke meet with his lord, telling Naraku that he's wasting Lord Sesshoumaru's time and Jaken said every insulting thing he could think of to the duke except flipping him off. However, when Naraku proposed the idea that he wanted to make a business deal with Lord Sesshoumaru and that he is willing to let Lord Sesshoumaru marry his daughter, a well renowned inu youkai, Jaken reevaluated his decision. Her beauty was rumored to be heavenly and breath-taking, and the only thing that could possibly surpass her beauty was her skill as a warrior and her kindness towards all living things.

And that is why our dear Jaken is running like the devil was on his heels. This offer would prove to be a once in a life time deal. Union with the world's most powerful inuyoukai bitch and the attached string was that Lord Sesshoumaru would have to provide protection to the duke's house and family? It was a win win situation with no possible way to lose. Lord Sesshoumaru patrols that part of the Western Lands all the time anyways. Jaken grinned as he continued his marathon through the castle. _Finally, master might reward Jaken for finding him his soul mate! And from then on, he will start to really appreciate me! And from what I've heard, the duchess is supposed to be kind and gentle. Very forgiving! If Lord Sesshoumaru gets mad at me, I could hide behind my soon-to-be mistress and she will protect me from my master's awful kicking!_ Jaken thought gleefully.

Jaken finally reached Sesshoumaru's lavish study doors. He momentarily forgot to knock before entering and before Jaken realized it, he was down on the floor with a boot over his green throat. "Sesshoumaru sama! I have very impo...gagrtant news," Jaken rasped. After a moment, the silver haired taiyoukai eased his foot off of Jaken's throat, but he didn't take it off. Jaken took the gesture as an invitation to continue. "Lord Sesshoumaru, forgive this lowly servant's interruption, but Duke Naraku is out in the conference room, waiting for your presence. He came to propose a deal with you; in exchange for his powerful and beautiful daughter's hand in marriage, you would provide their family with protection from enemies." Jaken said all of that in one breath. He did not think his Lord Sesshoumaru would stand for more incompetence.

Sesshoumaru lifted his foot off of his poor servant's green throat. He majestically walked back to his desk and sank down into its silkiness. _So, Naraku, the duke who refused my father's request for aid three centuries ago, is now begging me for aid in exchange for his daughter?_ Sesshoumaru withheld the bitter chuckle that threatened to escape his luscious lips. He had heard of the legendary beauty known as Duchess Kagome that lives on the border of the Western Lands. Her looks were said to be exotic; she was also said to have some sort of miko power in her because she could leave a man or youkai mesmerized for weeks on end. Her skill as a warrior, however, was one not to be reckoned with. Rumor had spread saying she could take down 10 male youkai by herself due to the foreign training her father had offered her. Of course, most of it would be just a hyperbole; no one was that perfect. However, Duchess Kagome was still an enigma to Sesshoumaru.

Another mystery that puzzled the great Sesshoumaru was the duke Naraku. Three hundred years ago, Naraku appeared into the world with lands and wealth out of nowhere. A few years after his sudden appearance, he was gifted with a female heir when he hadn't taken a youkai or a ningen to bed. Also, Sesshoumaru's spies and intelligence networks have yet to dig up anything about Naraku.

Sesshoumaru held his breath and sighed. It was going to be a long day.

The raven haired inuyoukai sat on one of the beautiful wooden chair in the simply decorated conference room. Uninterestingly, he lifted one of his claws to inspect the speck of dust underneath his manicured nails. It had been a half hour; that is, a half hour waiting on that arrogant son of a bitch Sesshoumaru. If it weren't for the damned renegade youkai living on the edges of the Western Lands, Naraku wouldn't have had to resort to begging Sesshoumaru like a dog; no, he was not the one like a dog; Sesshoumaru was.

The conniving duke knew that Sesshoumaru would not help him without some sort of benefit. And what would be better than Naraku's own darling daughter, Kagome? Kagome, the exotic, breathing taking, generous, and skillful daughter that anyone but Naraku would want to have. He was a vile creature; plague and evil radiate around his person while Kagome was always surrounded by a peaceful aura and a smile that could cheer the bluest of the blue.

Finally the infamous demon lord sauntered lazily into the conference room with a bored look that donned his emotionless face. Sesshoumaru quickly slipped into the chair directly across from Naraku and began negotiating some sort of business deal with the duke. After quite a while (as all business deals that involved Sesshoumaru turn out boring), Sesshoumaru swiftly summed up the major points of the deal:

The duke Naraku would marry his only daughter, Duchess Kagome, to the Lord of the Western Lands, Lord Sesshoumaru under the following rules:

By marrying the duchess, anyone of her kin is considered family and part of the Western Lands.

By accepting to be her mate, the lord Sesshoumaru accepts responsibility over every aspect of her life.

By accepting this business deal, the lord Sesshoumaru is to take full responsibility in protecting the duke Naraku and his kin in any way possible.

By agreeing to this marriage, the duke and his house should remain in Lord Sesshoumaru's service until the time he deems fit.

By agreeing with the above statement, the land which the duke now occupies also belongs to Lord Sesshoumaru.

Sesshoumaru breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, the damn negotiation was over and done with. Quickly, both inuyoukai signed and dated the agreement and then they shook hands with each other. Just as Sesshoumaru was getting ready to leave for his chambers, Naraku spoke up.

"My lord, don't you wish to see who it is that will be sharing your bed in the near future?"

Sesshoumaru grunted quietly. He really didn't care if he saw the bitch or not. It was really only going to be _one_ night. After she gives him an heir, she would not have the privilege to grace him bed ever again. Sesshoumaru gave a small shrug, signaling that he was indifferent about the idea.

Naraku smirked. He then turned around and beckoned Kagome into the room. The door to the room slowly opened and in the doorway stood the most beautiful bitch Sesshoumaru has ever since in his rather long life. Her hair was like a curtain of black waves cascading down to her lower back, making Sesshoumaru wonder if the hair would feel as soft as it looked. Her eyes, a honey gold that was a shade darker than his, studied him in return. The light colored kimono she wore complimented her snow white skin. The grace that she walked with surprised him; it looked like she floated towards him instead. Sesshoumaru finally saw the questioning gaze Kagome was giving him before he averted his stare.

Everything had been going really well.

Naraku sealed his deal.

Sesshoumaru gained a beautiful, and powerful, mate by his standards.

Yes, everything was going well... until Kagome opened her big mouth.

"Oh my, you're so beautiful! Are you Sesshoumaru sama's sister?"

* * *

O…M…G… I can't believe she said that! O.o Now Sesshoumaru is going to kill her… not. Rate and Review! 


	4. The Mating

Yay! Finally, an update from me! I'm not dead; I'm just … busy with school work and stuff. But uh… I posted this! For you guys. So be happy. Sorry to disappoint, but since I know nothing about Japanese marriage thingys, I'm just going to make it up as I go along. Besides, they're youkai anyways… right?

In this chapter, there will be chapters with names that are in the manga. Don't worry too much over it. You can either view it as their incarnations or just another person. They're not really related at all. Speaking of names, I gave Inutaisho the name "Kishin". Supposedly, it means "fierce god". Hey. He is fierce. And he is a god. So it works out well.

And for those who were confused at the beginning: this whole story is a flashback, starting from chapter 3. I thought the _450 years ago…_ was a big enough hint. Oh wells. Maybe I wasn't being clear enough. **THIS WHOLE STORY IS A FLASHBACK**.

Also, this chapter contains some **citrus-y** parts… so if you are **underage**, please **don't** read! There's reason why the rating is in place. Also, it will be unmarked. So, don't report me or anything. It's really not that citrus-y anyways. I held back because I noticed that a lot of people got banned/whatever from for that.

Ok. Just a refresher. Please read this part, because it might become confusing after a while.

_Italics_ means thinking

**Bold** means emphasis

" " means speech

' ' means their inner youkai talking

And OooOooOooOooOooO means pov or scene change

**Disclaimer**: So yea… I don't own Inuyasha. I wish I did. But alas, I do not. But I wish I did. But I don't… have I said that I wish I did?

OooOooOooOooOooO

Awkward silence filled the simply decorated conference room. Sesshoumaru was shocked that the inuyoukai bitch in front of him could not tell that he was male. _This bitch was _stupid_ enough to not use her nose!_ Red began to slowly seep into the corners of his eyes when Naraku cleared his throat. "Lord Sesshoumaru, are you satisfied with the deal?" Sesshoumaru pretended to have not heard the duke. However, Naraku asked again and Sesshoumaru could only nod and quickly, he left the conference room. He didn't trust how he would've reacted if he stayed in that room a moment longer.

While Sesshoumaru was stalking back into his study, he heard a slap echoing throughout the halls of his castle. He paused, and with a small shrug, continued on his way. _That bitch had it coming_, he thought as he continued his way towards his study to cool his temper off.

OooOooOooOooOooO

"Are you **stupid**? Of course that was Lord Sesshoumaru. God, are you that dense? Don't make me beat you anymore Kagome," threatened Naraku. Tears started to well up into the corners of the beautiful Kagome's eyes while her snow white hand covered the angry red mark on her flawless face. She had truly thought that that it was a female inuyoukai standing before her. However, now that she thought about it, it **was** stupid of her to presume that Sesshoumaru was a female when there were swords hanging by his yellow and blue obi.

"I'm sorry, father! I'm really sorry! I promise you, this won't happen again!" cried Kagome. She quickly reached over to her father, hoping to comfort and to reassure him that nothing would go wrong with the deal. Her whole family depended on her mating with the Lord of the Western Lands.

"It had better not, Kagome," and with that indirect threat, Naraku turned around smoothly and quickly he dislodged himself from Kagome with disgust written all over his pale face. Kagome could only watch sadly as her father left her in the empty conference room before breaking down and bawling her beautiful golden brown eyes out. She knew not to cry in front of her father; after all, it would be perceived as weakness in his eyes.

OooOooOooOooOooO

Finally, all of Kagome's belongings have been moved into Sesshoumaru's massive castle. Her big and luxurious bedroom was located next to Sesshoumaru's own private bedchamber. Over the next few days, Kagome wondered all over the palace to different places; she now knew where the bath house was, the lounge area, the dining room… and, of course, Sesshoumaru's study, the place where he resided the most.

During her stay here, Kagome had befriended one of the servant girls named Sango. Sango was an inuyoukai just like herself. However, where as Kagome had two blue stripes just like Sesshoumaru's magenta ones, Sango only had one. Sango's hair is also like Kagome's, long and wavy black, like black waves washing down her back. Sango's personality, however, was a little different than Kagome's. Sango was more timid and quiet; Kagome, on the other hand, loved to go outside and was more extroverted.

Sesshoumaru first gave Sango to Kagome when he found out that Kagome never had her own personal maid. When Kagome went to choose her maid, most of them glared at her because she was to be the future Lady of the Western Lands, thus destroying any hopes of their lord's affections. However, Sango was the only one that didn't glare at Kagome and so, Kagome took Sango as her own maid.

OooOooOooOooOooO

In a few days' time, the mating ceremony, where it is tradition for the male to chase the female through the forest and then claiming her in the wild, would be held, just like their ancestors had done before. The woods would then be closed to the public on the penalty of death for interrupting the mating of a taiyoukai and his mate.

However, before the chase would begin, the bitch's father must present the male with a prized possession from his family, and in Kagome's case, the Shikon no Tama. The jewel was said to have the power to grant the beholder a wish. However, by making a selfish wish on the jewel, the wish would then be twisted and bad luck would befall on the beholder. Only a pure, selfless wish can purge the jewel of any evil. Kagome had no idea how her father came across that silly little trinket. After all, there is nothing in this world that can grant youkai and human wishes that easily… is there?

Sesshoumaru, in no sense whatsoever, was interested in the damned jewel. The number of humans and youkai that died fighting for that jewel was enormous, and Sesshoumaru was not interested in becoming a part of statistics. He had thought about refusing the jewel from Naraku, but that would damage his reputation. So, the only thing Sesshoumaru can do was to accept it and then try to get rid of it as soon as possible. Sesshoumaru had no doubts that Naraku went through a lot of dark dealings before he got his hands on the jewel. But why give it to him, Sesshoumaru, when Naraku could've just made the wish in the first place?

OooOooOooOooOooO

Finally, the big day has arrived for two of the most powerful youkai in all of Japan. One was filled with anxiety and stress; the other, appeared to be very indifferent and… bored.

Decorations were hung up all over the Western Castle. The outer walls of the castle had been scrubbed down by servants, the interior was decorated with lanterns and every door frame was wrapped in beautiful silk. Servants woke up early in the breezy morning to start preparing the feast that would take place later on in the day, when the taiyoukai and the bitch retire into their forest retreat (AN: retreat: a place of privacy and quietness, not the other meaning).

The servants were not the only ones that were busy around the castle. Other noblemen and ladies were also getting ready for the celebration that will be held in honour of Lord Sesshoumaru and Duchess Kagome tonight. The males were busy trying to look their best, hoping that their attire might catch the eye of certain females. The females were going all out with their dresses and gowns and jewelry, hoping to outshine all the other females that will be present at the celebration party.

The ritual called for the lord to pick three of his best men to aid him to hold back the three females bitches that would try to hold the taiyoukai back from finding his intended mate. Because this was not a real fight to the death, but more for entertainment, everyone knew that no one would be getting hurt in the end.

Finally the Hour of the Mating has arrived. All of the Western subjects and guests were invited, including the old Lord of the Western Lands, the legendary Inu-no-Taisho, Kishin. He stood proudly alongside the duke Naraku, who was preparing to give away his beautiful daughter. While waiting for the duchess-soon-to-be-lady to arrive, Kishin tried to make small talk with the inuyoukai next to him to ease his own nervousness.

"So, Naraku-sama, are you excited about today?" Kishin tried to start the conversation. However, Naraku seemed to be ignoring Kishin, so he tried again.

"Must be reminiscing about all those good times with your daughter eh? Yea, they do grow up way too fast… Going to miss her now?" Kishin tried again. This time, he elicited an indifferent reply from Naraku.

"Hmm… that must be it." Seeing how the duke seems to be rather inattentive, Kishin left to talk to his old subjects who were just dying to congratulate him on this perfect union.

OooOooOooOooOooO

Kagome sat nervously in front of her dresser while the servants busily bustled around her. Some were fixing her kimono, ruffling it this way and that way. Others were fixing her hair, arguing whether to do it up or half down or all down. Kagome sighed. She saw no reason to have an elaborate wedding kimono and beautiful hair style. After all, a little while into the ceremony, she would be running for her life in the forest, so to speak. And then a little while after **that**, she'll be caught and ravaged in the forest… her cheeks flushed red at that indecent thought. Suddenly, Kagome was interrupted by her inner inu's purring. 'Our lord **is** a very **handsome** and **tall** male inu… his long silver hair and his piercing gold eyes…' Then all of a sudden, pictures of what Sesshoumaru might look like naked flashed before her eyes. Kagome blushed further. _Oh gods, I must be as red as my kimono right now…why must I be the one that is trapped with a pervert in my mind?_

After a while, all the servants left Kagome's room and Sango was the only one left. Sango slowly approached her mistress. "Duchess… it's time to go," Sango gently persuaded. Actually they were already late, but Sango just didn't have to heart to rush her lady into anything. The duchess looked so confused and lost sitting at the dressing table. However, it was time and Sango was sure that the taiyoukai was getting impatient with all the waiting, so Sango tried again.

"Mistress…"

Kagome sighed. She wasn't sure if she really wanted to be mated to anyone right now. She knew that this mating was supposed to help her clan in some way, but she didn't understand how this would help. _And it's not like father doesn't have enough soldiers to guard the castle already…_ All this thinking was seriously hurting her head. So she sighed again and resigned to her fate. "I know Sango, I know. I'm ready," Kagome answered, though still a bit uncertain.

The maid then escorted her lady into the open courtyard where the ceremony was being held.

OooOooOooOooOooO

"…thy Gods as witness and thy spirits as witness, on this **wonderful** day…" the priest from the nearby Buddhist temple droned on. It really **was** a beautiful day. Kagome was standing anxiously across from Sesshoumaru and she was **nervous**. Standing a bit away from Sesshoumaru, Kagome could see Lord Kishin tried hard to stifle a yawn that was threatening to come out. When she first arrived at the courtyard, she was stunned at the number of youkai and humans present. Then she was surprised again at how good Sesshoumaru looked in a wedding kimono. Of course, this gave her inu more opportunities to show her what it thought Sesshoumaru would look like with no clothes on. And now, she was **still** stunned at how good he looked. At last, the boring priest finished off his rambling with a few chants and them he stepped off the platform to let Kishin have a few words.

"Dear friends, family, and honored guests, thank you for attending this holy union between my son Lord Sesshoumaru and the duchess Kagome. Refreshments and the feast will be taking place inside the castle in the dining hall. Please make your way there as soon as my son Sesshoumaru runs after his beautiful bride, lest you forfeit your life." At this statement, some of the older mated nobles laughed knowingly and merrily while the younger unmated youkai and humans paled.

Kishin nodded to the females to let Kagome go. Without any hesitations, Kagome transformed into her true form, an impressive midnight black inuyoukai with two blue stripes on her cheeks, and then she was gone, hidden within the thick forest.

Kishin walked over to Sesshoumaru and grasped his forearm, and thus, invaded Sesshoumaru's mind. Quickly, Kishin was able to find Sesshoumaru's beast inside his mind, barely being contained within his steel bindings. Kishin walked up to the beast that was his son's counter part and whispered the word that the beast had been waiting for since the first time it had gone into heat.

**_Eros_**, Kishin whispered against the beast's ear. All at once, the steel bindings dissolved and the beast sprung forth, quickly taking over the rational part of the mind. Kishin left Sesshoumaru's mind swiftly and took a step back. Before Kishin was Sesshoumaru's true form, a ferocious looking white inu with magenta stripes and a blue crescent moon. The white inu gave a mighty roar of freedom before starting a hurried pace after his chosen bitch. However, he was quickly stopped by three female inu that blocked his way. Growling a command at his chosen youkai, they all transformed and one by one, pinned down the obstructing females. The white inu growled his approval before sprinting into the thick forest to find his bitch.

Kishin sighed happily and after a moment of gazing gleefully into the forest, turned to his guests. "Alright, people, nothing else to see! Move along now!"

OooOooOooOooOooO

Kagome sped through the thick forest. A while back, a thunderous roar signaled her lord's beast's revival and it had frightened her out of her hiding place. Currently, she was running throughout the dense forest, trying to blanket the air with her scent as to confuse the taiyoukai and to prolong her eventual rendezvous with Sesshoumaru. Kagome ultimately returned to her hiding place once again, a huge underground cave with a small entrance that is partially covered by some small low bushes. The cave was so big that probably even Sesshoumaru in his true form could stand up on his hind legs and jump around.

Kagome covered the entrance with more twigs and branches before retiring to the back of the cave. If a male could not find her in a forest, then he is not worthy of becoming her mate.

OooOooOooOooOooO

The beast that was Sesshoumaru raced around the forest, following his bitch's scent. _Hmm, that girl is smart in trying to confuse this Sesshoumaru's beast by covering the whole forest with her scent,_ Sesshoumaru mused in the back of his mind. His blood beast calmed itself before asking Sesshoumaru for help to locate its chosen mate.

_Do not worry, pup. I'll help you figure this out. This Sesshoumaru also desires the girl,_ The beast whined at Sesshoumaru's choice of nickname but nevertheless, allowed its master to continue. Quickly, Sesshoumaru summarized that the girl was probably hiding and asked his beast to check out all the caves within the forest. The beast sprinted to all the locations of the caves it knew were hidden within the vast woodland. Finally, it reached one where it thought the cave looked different.

_Different? Probably the girl's hiding in it. Get in there!_ commanded Sesshoumaru. The beast ripped through the obstructing branches and twigs before starting to dig a wider passage way to accommodate for its size. The further down the beast went, the stronger its chosen's scent was. That drove the beast into a frenzy; the bitch was so close, yet she was still out of sight. This motivated the beast to dig faster.

At last, it reached the end of the tunnel and leaped into the grand open space. However, the bitch was nowhere to be found. _What the… was this another trick?_ However, Sesshoumaru's question was quickly answered when he saw a black thing ran up the tunnel out of the corner of his eye. Rushing after the black matter, Sesshoumaru emerged out of the tunnel to see his chosen one not far ahead, desperately trying to escape from his sight unnoticed.

Sesshoumaru chased furiously after the female until he had her backed into a rock face; she had nowhere else to go except up and even Sesshoumaru concluded that he himself could not jump that height. Reacting like any cornered animal would, Kagome drew her lips back and issued a warning growl. Sesshoumaru, in turn, growled back without any hesitation. Without any warnings, Kagome leaped up and aimed for Sesshoumaru's throat. Sesshoumaru quickly turned to his left and tried to knock Kagome off balance by side swiping her with his right paw. However, Sesshoumaru miscalculated Kagome's true intentions and assumed that she was foolish enough to aim for his throat when all the time her target had been his hind legs.

It was too late to turn right to face Kagome, as that would leave Sesshoumaru with a bloody muzzle from her vicious bite, so the taiyoukai did a very un-canine thing; the Western Lord kicked up his hind legs, hoping to scratch Kagome across her muzzle. True to his aim, the scent of the female's blood quickly filled the small clearing that they were currently fighting in. However, he also sported four long and deep gashes on both of his thighs and legs from Kagome trying to hold onto him before he literally kicked her in the face.

Ignoring the stinging sensation from his wounds, Sesshoumaru limped slowly over to where he kicked Kagome to. She lay down and was slowly licking her various wounds that the youkai lord inflict onto her person. The slow and sensuous licking was slowly turning both Sesshoumaru and his beast on.

Keeping quiet, the huge white inu crept up to where the black inu was lying. Without any warning, Sesshoumaru jumped onto Kagome's back and bit into the scuff of her neck, making her submit to him. Kagome struggled and tried to throw the heavier inu off of her back; he was slowly crushing her and pinning her down to the ground. Struggling to no avail, and finally whimpered, the female indicated her submission to the stronger male.

The taiyoukai's beast was beside itself in joy. Its chosen female just consented to its mating. Kagome slightly lowered her upper body to the ground, rendering her behind up in the air. Sesshoumaru finally let go of her neck and started to sniff around her back, checking to see if she was ready to receive him. He gave her opening a few licks before deeming her ready for their activity. Gracefully, he mounted onto her back, almost like how he was when he was holding onto the scuff of her neck, and positioned himself. Without any hesitation, he thrust into her, making the female below him whimpered out loud. However, because he was in his true form, he could offer no comfort to ease her pain except with the promise that he was pleasure her to no end. Again and again, he thrust into her, drawing him and her both closer to their completion. Before long, the black inu gave a small whimper to signify her finish. With a final thrust, the demon lord tilted his head upward and gave a long howl to tell the world of his conquest.

After dislodging himself from his mate, Sesshoumaru curled up behind Kagome and the both of them drifted off to sleep, still in their magnificent true forms.

OooOooOooOooOooO

Kishin was chatting with an ookami youkai from the northern part of his lands when a thunderous howl was heard echoing throughout the western lands. Many male youkai grinned and loudly congratulated the western lord on finally getting a mate while almost all of the females blushed at the implication of the howl.

Naraku sat near the back of the dining hall, sipping a cup of hot sake. _Phase One of my plan has been completed. Now for Phase Two. Things are rather going well_, he mused to himself while sporting a wide grin. A voluptuous female kitsune walked by and gave the duke a once over. Getting off of his seat with a little difficulty due to his hard on, he followed the seducing kitsune to engage in some activities of his own. Naraku smirked to himself once more. _Yes, things are going rather well indeed._

OooOooOooOooOooO

BFA: Whoa. Longest chapter so far. Clocking at 3600 words. Oh yea. For those that doesn't know. Eros means lust, sex, arousal, etc. you know, along those lines. I just thought I would be a fitting word for such an occasion. Please review! I would like to know whether I'm doing well or not. As much as I like to write this, I also would like to know if I'm improving my writing. Maybe now I won't do so badly on my in-class essays…

Oh yea. Please check out my main page on There are previews up of future fics. Very nice sneak peeks.


End file.
